August 2011

With as many as 212,000 servicemembers suffering a TBI over the last decade, military clinicians are searching for the most effective neuroimaging methods to diagnose and treat the injuries. “Our goal is to improve neuroimaging contribution to the diagnosis and… Read More

WASHINGTON — A recent report on federal government plans to curb drug abuse puts added emphasis on the active-duty military and the veteran population. It also focuses more attention on misuse of prescription drugs and, as far as recovery efforts… Read More

WASHINGTON, DC— Families of servicemembers who commit suicide will now receive condolence letters from the President, just as families of troops who die in combat or of other service-related injuries currently do. This reversal of a long-standing White House policy… Read More

Philadelphia – Veterans who have attempted to kill themselves suffer elevated risks of mortality from all causes, not just suicide, according to a recent study. And the problem is not likely to improve anytime soon: The study cited research showing… Read More

PTSD could be linked to a compromised immune system in war veterans, according to preliminary results of a study. The study, conducted by researchers at the University of South Carolina and the Dorn VA Medical Center, could eventually lead to… Read More

The Coast Guard has undergone numerous changes since the attacks of September 11, 2001, most notably moving from the Department of Transportation to its new home at the Department of Homeland Security. Change within the Coast Guard has become an… Read More

WASHINGTON — While VA has quickly rolled out its new caregiver-assistance program for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, speed may have come at the expense of transparency and consistency. Or, so said caregivers who report trouble understanding the limitations of the… Read More

“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime” – Chinese Proverb One of the most stimulating aspects of being a federal medicine provider is… Read More

Linda Resnik, PhD, a VA research-health scientist at the Providence VA Medical Center was collaborating on a study with researchers at DoD’s Center for Intrepid (CFI) when the site principal investigator there was reassigned to a different location. A second… Read More

WASHINGTON — Military medicine may have dodged a bullet this summer when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to reconsider a case involving the Feres Doctrine, which, in effect, bars active-duty personnel from filing medical malpractice lawsuits against DoD health care… Read More

Arlington, VA — The Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences (AFRIMS) in Thailand ran the world’s largest HIV vaccine trial from 2003-2009. The Naval Medical Research Unit 3 in Egypt detected the first human case of Avian influenza in… Read More

With an influx of women veterans entering the VA system in higher numbers than ever before, the department has given women’s health care high priority. One step in addressing this growing population is assessing what women are looking for in… Read More

WASHINGTON — Nearly three out of five Native American women have been assaulted by their spouses or intimate partners in what now “has reached epidemic rates,” a federal official told a Senate committee last month. “It is not simply violence… Read More

WEST HAVEN, CONN. — Over the last few years, telemedicine has partially redefined how health care is delivered to patients, especially those who do not live near medical centers. For the most part, it has been a one-to-one exchange. One… Read More

An Army private, who recently was sentenced by a military court to 12 ½ years in prison for the murder of an Afghan detainee, walked into a cell at a U.S. outpost in Afghanistan and shot the sleeping prisoner, according… Read More

Suicide among veterans has grabbed its fair share of headlines in recent weeks. Much of the focus has been on VA’s difficulty in providing timely care, especially to veterans returning from deployment with PTSD, TBI or other neuropsychological conditions. What… Read More

WASHINGTON — Could repeating a mantra and meditating help alleviate symptoms of combat-related PTSD and improve quality of life in veterans suffering from the malady? A new pilot study suggests the answer is “Yes.­­” Transcendental Meditation (TM) is a form… Read More

WASHINGTON—Lillie Kennedy’s office is a testament to what she helps teach veterans as the Vision Rehabilitation Supervisor at the DC VA Medical Center. Her computer is equipped with software that tells her what programs are open and can read aloud… Read More

WASHINGTON — Sexual health and intimacy problems are important issues for those who have sustained a brain injury, and providers need to be able to address the topics with TBI patients, researchers said at the Federal Interagency Conference on Traumatic… Read More

SAN FRANCISCO — Research into PTSD has accelerated exponentially over the last decade. Where once it was understood as little more than a loose collection of symptoms, now researchers are beginning to define the pathology of the disease as well… Read More